By Mohammed Adamu Namji

Before now, we all knew about the heightened security tension in Nigeria, particularly in Benue, the Kaduna-Abuja highway, and other corridors within Northern Nigeria. The avalanche of commentaries that followed the remarks of General Christopher Gwabin Musa (Rtd), OFR, the Honourable Minister of Defence of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has left me thoroughly demoralized and astonished.

One question continues to echo in my mind: how many of those now mounting the high horse of public commentary truly understand the intricate architecture of insecurity in the entire Northern States, Abuja inclusive, in the North-West, and across Nigeria? How many have paused to appreciate the depth of the quagmire this Minister inherited and the giant strides recorded so far? For some, their interventions amount to sheer tomfoolery — hollow, ignorant and as porous as a basket that can hold no water.

I am frankly amazed that commentators who cannot even articulate the constitutional responsibilities of a Minister of Defence in the 21st century would presume to lecture one of the finest military minds this nation has ever produced. The burden General Musa shoulders — to coordinate the Armed Forces, harmonise disparate intelligence, and restore peace in a nation in security melancholy — is better imagined than described. It is a task that demands steel, not sentimentality.

This is the tragic paradox of Nigeria. It is agonizingly difficult to fight for Nigerians because the very people you are fighting for often become your fiercest adversaries. We clamour for an iron fist to confront insecurity, yet the moment a leader speaks the unvarnished truth without romanticising it, we crucify him. Our security crisis is not a love poem to be soothed with lyrical verses. It is a war, and wars demand clarity, courage and uncomfortable truths.

Who is this man they so casually vilify?

General Christopher Gwabin Musa, OFR (Rtd), born on 25th December 1967 in Sokoto State and a proud son of Zangon Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State, is unarguably one of the most distinguished officers in the annals of our military history. He rose through the ranks on merit, intellect and valour to serve as Chief of Defence Staff, where he distinguished himself even in the face of a near-helpless security situation, before his appointment in December 2025 as Honourable Minister of Defence, succeeding H.E. Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, former Governor of Jigawa State.

Under his stewardship, the Nigerian military pay has risen twice. The expansions of the newly established Brigades to tackle insecurity in Nigeria is a testimony of purposeful leadership.

The Honourable Minister of Defence, General CG Musa Rtd is focused on ending insecurity and deserve the support of all and sundry not discouragement as president Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR is pleased with his performance.

Since assuming office, his scorecard has been so luminous that it has unsettled many who are envious of his leadership acumen and capacity to deliver. Unlike many who hide behind propaganda, General Musa, in a frank self-assessment in May 2026 as reported by Arise News, rated Nigeria’s security performance under the Tinubu administration at 65 to 70 percent. With rare candour, he declared that terrorism has significantly declined, while honestly acknowledging that kidnapping and banditry remain pressing challenges. That is not failure. That is honesty. That is the kind of leadership Nigeria needs, not a false narrative.

His achievements are not mere rhetoric. They are visible, verifiable and transformative. At the heart of his tenure is the strategic modernisation of Nigeria’s defence architecture — a reform anchored on professionalism, foresight and long-term planning. He has dismantled the age-long inter-service rivalry that once weakened our operations and has entrenched genuine joint operational synergy among the Army, Navy and Air Force, so that today our forces fight as one united front, sharing intelligence and executing missions in harmony.

Furthermore, General Musa understands the timeless military maxim that no army fights better than its welfare is catered for. He has therefore placed the welfare and morale of officers, soldiers and ratings at the very epicentre of his reforms, knowing that a motivated force is an effective force. This focus on human capital has restored confidence and boosted operational effectiveness across theatres of operation. In addition, he has fundamentally changed our doctrine of warfare, moving it from crude brute force to precision, intelligence-driven and technology-enabled operations, where intelligence does the tracking, technology does the finding, and strategy wins the war.

Perhaps most remarkable is his humane doctrine of warfare. He has issued a clear and unambiguous directive to all Service Chiefs to halt the loss of civilian lives and to make human rights compliance non-negotiable in all military operations. In a nation where collateral damage had become almost normalised, this directive has redefined professionalism. To institutionalise accountability, he has also introduced and implemented the Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard within the Ministry of Defence, entrenching transparency and zero tolerance for corruption.

The enormity of his responsibilities cannot be comprehended by social media pedestrians who parade as security analysts. The Honourable Minister is doing fantastically well, and his giant strides have unsettled his detractors.

Why then must we, as Nigerians, habitually pull down those who are performing? Why must we distract and discourage excellence?

The way forward is clear. Nigeria’s problem is not the quantity of medicine we pour on insecurity, but the appropriateness of the prescription. We must stop heating up the polity and allow the Minister to concentrate on the monumental duties of his office. The right diagnosis must precede the right medication. We cannot pound boiled yam the way we pound dried yam. Boiled yam binds into a smooth, cohesive mass. Dried yam crumbles into powder. Apply the wrong method and you get a mess.

Wrong diagnosis and wrong medication are express tickets to the theatre of death. Those beating the drums of war should, with immediate alacrity, repudiate that path. Their rhetoric is contagious and toxic.

Permit me to end with a metaphor. When you have an almost empty pot of soup and you think the way to feed a hungry household is to pour a bucket of water into it, you do not produce more soup. You produce coloured water and condemn the household to perpetual hunger and malnutrition. That is precisely what we are doing to our national security. We are diluting truth with sentiment, substituting noise for strategy, and attacking the very hands trying to fix the pot.

General Christopher Gwabin Musa deserves our support, not our scorn. He deserves applause, not attack. Until we cure ourselves of this chronic Pull-Him-Down syndrome, we will continue to punish those who dare to tell us the truth, and in doing so, we punish ourselves.

Mohammed D. Adanu Namiji writes from Kabusa, FCT, Abuja

By David Torough, Abuja

The Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) have commenced discussions on the transfer of inland dry port-related functions as part of efforts to ensure a seamless implementation of the new regulatory framework and promote the growth of Nigeria’s marine and blue economy.

The meeting, held between the management of both agencies, focused on the technical aspects of the transition, including the need to clearly delineate responsibilities and prevent duplication of functions among relevant government agencies.

The Director-General/CEO of NPERA, Dr. Akutah Pius, said the directive of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola, should be viewed as a directive aimed at advancing the growth and development of the nation’s marine and blue economy.

He stressed that the transition could not be successfully achieved by NPERA alone, noting that the cooperation of all relevant stakeholders was essential.

According to him, the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy would remain at the centre of the transition process, while relevant mandates would be appropriately transferred to facilitate smooth integration.

He noted that the Minister’s intervention while the NPERA Bill was still before the National Assembly had helped resolve disagreements among agencies and create a foundation for greater inter-agency collaboration.

Akutah further emphasised the importance of unity and cooperation in achieving a successful transition, explaining that the purpose of the meeting was to commence the process of transferring the relevant inland dry port duties to NPERA, in line with the agency’s mandate as an economic regulator.

He said the provisions of the NPERA Act, including Section 51, needed to be effectively operationalised to facilitate a seamless transition and ensure that the various responsibilities of stakeholders were properly aligned.

The NPERA Boss proposed the establishment of a joint committee comprising NPERA, NPA, the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), and the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy to coordinate the transition process.

He noted that inland dry ports are critical to extending the benefits of the maritime sector to Nigeria’s hinterland and strengthening the country’s trade and logistics network.

Responding, the Managing Director of NPA, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho described the initiative as a welcome development and assured NPERA of the Authority’s operational and technical support throughout the transition process.

Dantsoho said the process had commenced with the right intention and purpose, adding that updated information on the current status of inland dry ports would be made available to support the deliberations.

He expressed optimism that further engagements would lead to the realisation of the objectives of the transition and strengthen the development of inland dry ports.

The Executive Director of the NPA, Lekan Badmus, commended NPERA for initiating the collaboration, describing the meeting as an important step towards achieving a smooth integration.

He said the agencies had now entered the technical phase of the transition, with particular attention being given to avoiding duplication of functions.

In his closing remarks, Dr. Akutah said that the proposed committee would reconvene with the Minister to obtain further clarification on the transition and agree on the necessary steps to ensure that the process is implemented smoothly and effectively.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has reviewed its policy on swapping candidates’ registered GSM numbers and changing registered email addresses, allowing candidates who have genuinely lost access to their SIM cards or email accounts to update their details through a controlled process.

The new arrangement, which takes effect from Monday, is designed to assist candidates who have lost access to their registered GSM numbers, particularly those unable to use the numbers for registration for subsequent Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME), as well as those whose registered email accounts can no longer be recovered.

The Acting Director, Public Affairs and Protocols, JAMB, Dr Fabian Benjamin, announced this in a statement on Monday.

The Board had previously restricted SIM swapping and email changes as part of measures to protect candidates’ records from fraud and other security vulnerabilities associated with such alterations.

Benjamin, however, said in the statement that the policy was reviewed following the introduction of enhanced security measures, particularly stronger identity and biometric verification processes.

Under the revised arrangement, candidates can request a GSM number swap, email address change, or both, subject to strict authentication procedures.

According to the Board, the concession is intended to reduce the hardship faced by candidates who lose access to their registered credentials and make the processes leading to tertiary education admission more seamless.

JAMB, however, warned that the service would be available only once to each candidate and would be subject to stringent verification designed to prevent impersonation, fraud and unauthorised alteration of candidates’ records.

Part of the statement read: “The service will be available at designated JAMB Computer-Based Test (CBT) Centres, including State Offices where applicable.

“Candidates seeking to access the service are required to provide the new GSM number and/or email address, as applicable, as well as a duly executed court affidavit scanned and ready for upload.

How to access the service

According to JAMB, candidates are required to log into their e-Facility profiles using their existing credentials, including their email address, registration number or profile code.

“They are then expected to select ‘SIM Swap/eMail Change Payment’ from the menu and pay the prescribed fee.

“After payment, candidates are to proceed to a JAMB CBT Centre and access the SIM Swap/eMail Change Quicklink.

“At the centre, they will enter their profile code or existing GSM number and click ‘Fetch Details’, after which they will undergo biometric verification.

“The candidate will then select the required service — GSM number only, email address only, or both GSM number and email address — before entering the new details and uploading the scanned court affidavit.

“The process is completed by clicking ‘Update’, after which a confirmation message will be displayed upon successful completion,” JAMB stated.

The Board advised candidates to use the service strictly for genuine cases and patronise only designated CBT centres.

JAMB further noted that the reviewed policy was part of its effort to balance strong data security with candidate-friendly service delivery, ensuring that genuine candidates are not unnecessarily disadvantaged by circumstances beyond their control.